A hungry bear will go just about anywhere – and do just about anything – to find food. But the black bears of Southern California can trace their lineage some 300 miles north, to ancestors whose antics got them kicked out of a national park.

I know much has been said regarding the black bears of California but one thing that has always been a mystery to me is the wide variation of their appearance, and I'm not referring to color. It's their size and shape. The article attached to eeek's post shows a very large cinnamon colored sow with a wide face. She has the characteristic build and appearance of a small grizzly! Others I've seen are much lighter in weight and have a long skinny snout and body. Despite this, everybody just lumps them into the same "black bear" category. It's hard for me to believe these are all the same kinds of bears. Is this just a feature of drastic age difference or is there more to it?

I frequently have friends who INSIST they saw a grizzly in California. Some even insisting they spotted the humped back/neck of the typical grizzly. I've always tried to explain that grizzlies are no longer present, and "black bear" doesn't necessarily refer to color. But Tomdisco presents an interesting question. How different are the variations of black bears in the Sierras?

I frequently have friends who INSIST they saw a grizzly in California. Some even insisting they spotted the humped back/neck of the typical grizzly. I've always tried to explain that grizzlies are no longer present, and "black bear" doesn't necessarily refer to color.

Actually, there are still living grizzly bears in California. Just none in the wild.

All the grizzly bears currently living in California are in zoos like this pair of female grizzly bears located at the San Francisco Zoo:Photos by Marianne Hale

Quotetomdisco
I know much has been said regarding the black bears of California but one thing that has always been a mystery to me is the wide variation of their appearance, and I'm not referring to color. It's their size and shape. The article attached to eeek's post shows a very large cinnamon colored sow with a wide face. She has the characteristic build and appearance of a small grizzly! Others I've seen are much lighter in weight and have a long skinny snout and body. Despite this, everybody just lumps them into the same "black bear" category. It's hard for me to believe these are all the same kinds of bears. Is this just a feature of drastic age difference or is there more to it?

Perhaps Dave could pipe in on this conversation. His work experience in the park may offer some insight regarding the widely varying shapes of bears in Yosemite. I just don't see how they can all be lumped into the same category of bears.

Mike, I've been there also and I guess the answer is that black bears just come in all shapes whether it makes sense or not. All I've personally seen are the black skinny ones with long snouts. The first time I see one of those big lumbering cinnamon bears with the fat jowls pretending to look like a grizzly it will no doubt give me great pause.

I have seen black bears in in various colors, shapes and sizes in multiple combinations. A few years ago, I saw one in Yosemite West that was light blond and small and a few days later near the turnoff to Badger Pass, a big black one. Interesting thing is that when I lived in PA, most of the bears I saw were black with an occasional brown one but never a really light colored one.

Some species of mammals vary widely in shape, color and size. Just look at us modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens), or look at man's best friend, the domesticated dog (Canis lupus familiaris) which is actually a sub-species of the gray wolf (Canis lupus).

Both humans and dogs very wildly in size, color and features, yet all of us humans belong to just one sub-species of humans and domesticated dogs belong to one sub-species of the gray wolf. So it shouldn't be so surprising that other mammals like the American Black Bear can vary wildly in looks too.

Quoteplawrence
Some species of mammals vary widely in shape, color and size. Just look at us modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens), or look at man's best friend, the domesticated dog (Canis lupus familiaris) which is actually a sub-species of the gray wolf (Canis lupus).

Both humans and dogs very wildly in size, color and features, yet all of us humans belong to just one sub-species of humans and domesticated dogs belong to one sub-species of the gray wolf. So it shouldn't be so surprising that other mammals like the American Black Bear can vary wildly in looks too.

Quoteplawrence
Some species of mammals vary widely in shape, color and size. Just look at us modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens), or look at man's best friend, the domesticated dog (Canis lupus familiaris) which is actually a sub-species of the gray wolf (Canis lupus).

Both humans and dogs very wildly in size, color and features, yet all of us humans belong to just one sub-species of humans and domesticated dogs belong to one sub-species of the gray wolf. So it shouldn't be so surprising that other mammals like the American Black Bear can vary wildly in looks too.

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Like Tatoo and Shaq?

Olde Dude is on his game tonight!

The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.